A large-scale landscaping project is getting underway in the Lithuanian part of the Curonian Spit this fall with plans to open up and form new spaces and remove woody vegetation from dunes on an area of almost 700 hectares over three years, the daily Lietuvos Zinios reported on Thursday.

"It's very difficult and responsible work. Gray dunes become overgrown with pine trees and other trees each year and these processes need to be stopped in order to preserve them (the dunes)," it quoted Ausra Feser, director of the Curonian Spit National Park, as saying.

Money from the EU's structural funds and national resources will be used to finance the project, which is estimated to cost around 380,000 euros.

Strategic landscaping work in the Curonian Spit, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, had not been performed for decades, but the situation began to change in 2013 when mountain pine trees were cut down in some places to open up the spit's sandy hills and meadows.